Saturday, 16 August 2014

INTERESTING STUFF – 16 August 2014

THE 105-YEAR-OLD TATTOOED LADY

Mimi Rosenthal has an interesting-enough life story without having become, starting at age 99, a tattooed lady. She graduated from college when hardly any women did that, raised two kids and ran a travel agency for many years.

But let her tell the story. You're going to wish, as I do, that Mimi is a friend of yours. (Hat tip to TGB reader Jane Cornwell)

JIMMY FALLON'S HOUSE OF CARDS IMPRESSION

Even though I once worked on The Dick Cavett Show (way back in the early 1970s), I haven't watched the late-night chat shows in decades. I'm beginning to believe I should; from online clips, there's a lot of good television happening there these days.

This one is Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon, doing his parody impression of Kevin Spacey's Frank Underwood character from House of Cards in a sketch that takes him down to a New York subway platform.

There is no way in the world anyone could see this ending coming and it's fantastic (although you do need to be a bit familiar with the late-night host wars from a couple of years ago).

TICK BITE THAT MAKES YOU A VEGETARIAN

I eat a mostly vegetarian diet not for any moral or environmental reason but to be able to eat enough to feel full and thereby help maintain my weight loss. Meat, including chicken, is too high in calories to be able to do that.

I had no difficulty giving up meat. But for anyone who wants to but is having trouble, they might try getting bitten by this bug. Well, except that it's too dangerous:

"...hundreds of people across the United States can no longer eat red meat because of a bite [from the lone star tick]...

"...the body’s immune system goes on high alert—causing a severe allergic reaction that could be deadly. The victim suffers from hives and itching, and his or her throat could swell shut. Some people who have been bitten carry EpiPens (epinephrine shots) in case of another attack...

"Doctors are still figuring out how long the allergy could last. Some patients recover, while others remain allergic. Understandably, those who have suffered serious reactions resist eating red meat again."

SENIOR PLANET AGING WITH ATTITUDE

The Senior Planet website is subtitled Aging with Attitude and this week, my friends there have asked readers to choose one of 12 videos they have featured over the past year that best represents the phrase.

You might recognize two or three that you've seen on Time Goes By. Senior Planet and I have a shared sensibility about aging so we frequently feature the same things.

Here is one of the videos at Senior Planet that you haven't viewed here:

If you've got some time today, go on over to Senior Planet to watch the other videos you haven't seen. It is a grand idea to show all 12 videos of aging with attitude in one fell swoop.

CRISS ANGEL'S SHOCKER ILLUSION

We've seen magician Criss Angel in these pages before doing some nice little table magic. But today's video is nothing that simple or cute.

Wikipedia tells me that Angel is the most watched magician on the internet and after seeing this illusion, I don't doubt it. Amazing and – warning – creepy. (Hat tip to Darlene Costner)

DOLPHIN SAVES DOG

Thank Darlene again for this one. Of course, you know from the first frame that is not real. But it is a lovely story about cross-species friendship and it is lovingly and well produced. Enjoy.

THE ENGLISH LESSON

Darlene's on a roll this week. Here's another from her. It feels almost like a joke but from what I could find, the story is true and was reported in a news website for children.

Anyone who loves language – a lot of TGB readers do – will like this. Here goes:

No dictionary has ever been able to satisfactorily define the difference between "complete" and "finished." However, during a recent linguistic conference, held in London, England, and attended by some of the best linguists in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese linguist, was the presenter when he was asked to make that very distinction.

The question put to him by a colleague in the erudite audience was this: “Some say there is no difference between ‘complete’ and ‘finished.’ Please explain the difference in a way that is easy to understand.”

Mr. Balgobin’s response: “When you marry the right woman, you are ‘complete.’ If you marry the wrong woman, you are ‘finished.’ And, if the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are ‘completely finished.’”

His answer received a five minute standing ovation.

MAYBE MY FUNNY BONE IS BROKEN

Several readers sent me this video of a southern California weatherman doing standup at a conference on aging. Well, maybe HE thinks he's doing standup. I think he need to stick to the weather. The jokes are hackneyed and his delivery is terrible.

But hey, maybe that's just me. See what you think.

BUT THEN THERE IS THE PRO

Jeanne Robinson really IS funny. This is called Don't Bungee Jump Naked from her DVD titled, Flat Out Funny - and that she certainly is. If you can manage it, give us one more hat tip to Darlene Costner for sending this one. She's had a busy week.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” in the upper left corner of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I probably won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of
publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog IF you include the name of the blog and its URL.

Comments

Jeanne Robertson is funny...loved her lines about teeth falling out and water breaking.

That hive story was scary. I've suffered with chronic hives my entire life. When they start, I have them daily for 5 to 7 months. Who would have ever guessed you could get allergic to a certain kind of food from an insect bite!